Different Views
by Sailor Elf
Summary: Sequel to Oh Starry Night. After rescuing an alien from an attack, they aide him in returning to his planet. Once there, the crew quickly realize that the locals have a problem that simply cannot be avoided.
1. A Worrying Start

Disclaimer - None from _Voyager _is mine. Any original characters are mine though (mentioned or otherwise).

Summary - Sequel to Oh Starry Night. After rescuing an alien from an attack, they aide him in returning to his planet. Once there, the crew quickly realize that the locals have a problem that simply cannot be avoided.

00000

Different Views

Lieutenant Tom Paris could sense the uncertain eyes glancing around the bridge behind him. Without even turning around, he knew that Harry was still adjusting to being back on the bridge again despite the progress he had made in the last few months. Captain Janeway sat in her chair, watching the screen beside her, appearing to be totally oblivious to the situation standing behind her. Tom also knew that it was near the end of the shift and that Harry was usually eager to head back to his quarters in order to relax. Today, he noticed it was a bit more than usual.

"Is there anything on the sensors, Ensign?" the captain piped up.

It took Harry a moment to realize what the Janeway was asking of him and checked the console standing before him.

"No Captain. It's, um, pretty quiet out there. Everything seems to be holding steady and there's no sign of anything - yet," Harry replied.

Janeway gave a small smile, even though she knew Harry couldn't see it. The time slowly passed by as nothing else seemed out of the ordinary until Janeway finally climbed to her feet. She turned enough to face Harry Kim with a grave look. Harry gulped, feeling the studying eyes cover every inch of his body.

"Ensign, may I see you in my ready room?" she told him.

Harry gave a deep breath before carefully nodding his head in response. He glanced to see that all eyes were now on him. Tom grew worried as he returned his attention back to his console. He had an idea of what was coming and whether or not Harry would hate him afterwards remained to be seen. The ensign followed the captain into the room, where she turned around and faced him. She looked him over, as if still scrutinizing him.

"Is there anything you'd like to discuss, Ensign?" she finally asked him.

"Captain?" he questioned.

"Ensign, I heard you've been a bit anti-social in the last few months. I was hoping that I could understand why. You're a fine officer and I'd hate to see you lose yourself simply because you're afraid. Tuvok tells me you're improving in your sessions with him and the Doctor has said that there appears to be no ill-effects from the transformation," Janeway told him.

Harry gave a small smile as he listened to the captain. A tiny laugh escaped his lips as he slowly realized what was happening.

"Captain, I'll be fine. I-I just need some more time to myself," he stammered.

"Not according to Lieutenant Paris. He's told me that you haven't done a lot outside of your duties with him let alone anybody else since we left Rysaria. Despite what you think, there are people who are worried about you," the captain explained.

Harry turned his attention down to the floor, a few wisps of hair falling in front of his eyes. He clasped his hands together, uncertain how he should approach the information set before him. The captain moved to his side and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Ensign, I only ask Tuvok, the Doctor and Lieutenant Paris to report their observations to me alone and it does not go further than the four of us. You're a valued member of my crew and I can see you are obviously still hurting from the experience," Janeway gently explained.

It took a moment before Harry lifted his head and faced the captain with a deep breath. Janeway lifted a hand towards the nearby chair, which he quickly accepted. They sat down and Harry lifted his hands up to his face, wondering where to start. It took him a few minutes before he could summon the courage to speak.

"I-It's been a long few months Captain," he finally admitted." I have been managing to keep the transformations in check with Tuvok's help but I'm still terrified. Terrified that there's going to be that one time where he finally comes out again and I unintentionally hurt someone."

Janeway placed a comforting hand on his knee as she carefully watched his every move. Harry ran a hand through his hair, uncertain what else to say as he locked eyes with her.

"Listen to me, everyone was scared when you were first attacked. We were uncertain if you would even make it and you almost didn't at first. Little did we know that it was the beginnings of a process that Advisor Matol had planned for you," Janeway replied.

A small laugh couldn't help but escape Harry's lips for he was wondering when he would hear that name again. Advisor Ekaterina Matol had only been mentioned to his face a couple of times since they had left the planet. He closed his eyes as his mind wandered back to the times he had with her. In his mind's eyes, he could still see and feel the curves of her Rysarian form and how it felt being one with her. Even thinking about it still felt so natural even though they were separated by several light years now. He almost forgot where he was when a sudden movement of the ship jolted him back to reality. He stole a quick glance with the captain before they ran back out onto the bridge.

"What's going on?" demanded Janeway.

"We had come across two vessels and one was firing upon the other. When we tried to intervene to find out what was happening, the ship began to see us as a threat as well and fired upon us next," Chakotay explained.

The ship rocked as Harry attempted to get back to his station. After few moments of checking the numbers, he glanced back to the screen.

"Shields are down to 90% and they're dropping," Harry called out.

"Open hailing frequencies," Janeway called out.

Within a few moments, they were receiving a reply and a very angry face appeared on the view screen. The alien was unlike anything they had ever seen since it appeared to have webbed ears and instead of a nose, it almost had a slight snout, almost as if they were looking at a fish. Its mouth was a thin slit underneath this 'snout' and it's eyes were slightly bulging from their sockets yet it didn't appear to have any gills of any sort. His clothes were an aqua blue colour and it appeared to cover everything besides his head and hands, which appeared to also have some webbing between the fingers.

"_What do you want? You were intruding upon a transaction," _the figure told them.

"Not the way we saw it. You were clearly attacking them, we were only hoping to settle whatever the problem is peacefully," Janeway explained.

The figure snorted as he glanced over the crewmembers sitting upon the bridge. With a quick glance to his one side, another jolt rattled _Voyager_ and the image disappeared from the screen.

"Tuvok, scan his ship. See if there's a possibility of a weakness so we can disable him," ordered Janeway.

After a few moments of silence, Tuvok glanced back to the captain and she knew he had an answer.

"A small section of his starboard bow appears to show signs of a recent hit and it looks like the hull has been slightly weakened. If we focus on this section, we could render his ship inoperative," the Vulcan suggested.

"Do it," Janeway told him with a nod of the head.

After a few shots at the hull, the ship started to smoke a bit and began to veer away, slowly disappearing from the scene. Tom Paris looked at the console and gave a small smile, his fingers dancing around.

"The other ship is hailing us Captain," he called up to her.

"Answer them," she replied.

A figure drastically different from the other one appeared on the screen. He had two ridges which met in the middle of his hairline and curved around his eyes. They trailed down his face and onto the neck. His skin colour was a pale orange in contrast to his shoulder-length brown hair. He glanced over the crew before resting his eyes on Janeway.

"My name is Catar, from the planet Tanasch. I have to thank you for your sudden appearance. The one you chased off is of the Panari, a race who's been an enemy of my people for centuries. He was hassling me since he thought I had something he wanted," he told them.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Star ship _Voyager_. Believe when I say I was hoping to resolve the conflict peacefully. Are you injured?" replied the captain.

Catar quickly took a moment to glance down at his console and gave a frustrated sigh.

"I'm not hurt but I'm afraid my ship is dead in space. He completely destroyed my engines. If it isn't too much trouble to take me to my home planet, I would be very appreciative. It's not very far from here," requested Catar.

Janeway nodded to her crew and they began to prepare for their visitor. Tom glanced up at Harry to find him leaning over his station.

"Tom, Harry, I'd like the two of you to head down to Cargo Bay 1 and greet our guest," Janeway's voice filled Tom's ears.

The pilot quickly turned his attention to the captain before climbing to his feet. He returned his stare back over to Harry and gave him a quick smile, who clearly had an uncertain look on his face. It took him a moment before he followed his friend through the door.

TBC…


	2. A New Point of View

Tom and Harry quickly walked down the corridor towards the cargo bay. The pilot carefully watched his friend, wondering what going through his mind. They stepped into the turbo lift and headed on their way. In mid transport, Tom gave a deep sigh.

"Computer, halt turbo lift," he finally called out.

Placing his hand against the wall of in front of Harry, Tom intensely eyed the young ensign and Harry returned the look with a confused one.

"What's going on Tom?" Harry asked, sounding a bit irritated.

"I could ask you the same question Harry. I've noticed today's been one of those rare days that you've been itching to get back to your quarters. Is there anything wrong that you'd like to talk about?" Tom wondered.

Harry's look went from complete confusion to anger as his friend was talking. He bit his lip, unable to look at his friend in the face any longer. It took a minute for Harry to find the words so he could answer.

"Why does everyone have to worry about me like this?" he finally asked.

"Harry, it's because we care about you. You had almost died again when we on Rysaria, this time permanently. Just tell me if this does have something to do with your recent transformation," Tom finally asked.

The ensign gave a slow exhale before carefully returning his stare back to Tom Paris, who was patiently waiting for an answer. He really didn't want to talk about the situation at this particular moment but it seemed that Tom wasn't giving him much of a choice.

"Yes, it does Tom. I still sense him trying to get out sometimes. It doesn't happen nearly as much anymore since Tuvok offered his help but I still get urges, cravings for no apparent reason and today is one of those rare days where I felt his presence the entire last half of the shift. I simply want to head back to my quarters and deal with it - in private," Harry finally admitted.

Tom gave him a one-over, having a feeling that his friend wasn't telling him everything. The possibilities went over in his mind before one finally hit him and he couldn't help but give a sad smile as a sigh escaped his lips.

"Plus it's almost time for Ekaterina to give birth to your children, isn't it? You still wish you were there for it, don't you? Is that what's also been on your mind the last few days?" Tom inquired.

Harry gave a deep sigh as he turned back towards the door and crossed his arms.

"I'm not talking about this right now. Could we take care of our guest in Cargo Bay 1? Computer, resume turbo lift."

The lieutenant exhaled as he dropped his arm from the wall. His gaze stayed on his friend until the turbo lift stopped at the appropriate deck. The duo stepped out and headed down the hallway before heading to the cargo bay. Inside, they were greeted by the visitor slowly departing his spacecraft.

"Hello there. My name is Lieutenant Tom Paris, this is Ensign Harry Kim. We're here to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible," Tom introduced.

"Thank you so much for your generousity. You don't realize how much this means to me. The other you chased away would have killed me for certain," he said.

Tom gave a smile as he allowed their visitor to pass by him, while he and Harry quickly followed. As they led to him through the ship, Catar marvelled at everything he passed.

"This is amazing. I never expected anyone from around these parts to have such designs!" he gasped.

"We're not from around here. We come from a planet called Earth, which is on the other side of the galaxy," Tom explained.

As they exchanged a few questions and answers along the way, Harry fell in line behind the two, remaining quite silent. Tom stole the briefest of glances towards his friend before turning back to Catar, hoping to keep the newcomer's attention on him.

"Listen, I imagine our captain would want to speak with you," said Tom.

"Of course, of course. Shall we go see her now?" Catar replied.

Tom led him down the hallway with his destination in mind, with Harry close behind them.

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"I really don't kow how to thank you Captain Janeway. My people back on Tanasch will be as grateful as I am now for all the help that you've given me already," Catar told her.

"We're more than happy to drop you off to your world. It turns out that it's not too far off our current course," Janeway replied, a smile written all over her face.

Janeway was standing behind a chair in the briefing room while Catar was sitting. Behind him, were Tom and Harry. She took a quick look at the ensign and could tell that he was in a great deal of discomfort. His eyes were almost closed as he rubbed his temple. Taking several deeps breaths, she could see the minor shaking that had settled within his hand.

"Ensign Kim?" she called over to him.

He snapped to attention once he heard his name only to be greeted by a worried smile.

"You've been a great help Ensign. I think Tom and I can handle everything from here on out," Janeway told him. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you Captain," he barely managed to say.

He hurriedly left the room with three sets of eyes watching him. Catar curiously turned back to the captain, a question obviously on his lips.

"Has my presence somehow offended your officer, Captain?" he finally asked.

"Of course not, why would you think that?" Janeway quickly replied.

Catar stole a quick glance between both her and Tom before his stare settle on the door which Harry and departed through moments before.

"He has seemed - apprehensive - since my arrival on your ship. I assumed it was because I am different than you," he admitted.

"No, no, no, it's not what you think at all. Ensign Kim has a - personal - problem that recently arose in his life. It bothers him some days more than others and today is not one of his better days. He has been patiently waiting for several hours to calm down. Your arrival didn't create any problems for him other than an unexpected wait," Janeway explained.

Catar smiled, only somewhat reassured. He stared out the window at the stars, knowing they were going to arrive at his home planet within a short time. The captain followed his gaze and gave a smile.

"Captain, there is one thing I should tell you about," Catar told them.

Both Tom and Janeway turned their attentions back to their guest, interested as to what he had to say.

"When we arrive, I will ask my people to procure some supplies that you may need for helping me. It's the least I can do. If you'd like, you could stay for a day or two to relax. We could offer to show you the great mountains near my home. They will take your breath away. There is also a grand forest close by as well with a wide variety of flora and fauna as well as animals," Catar told them.

"We wouldn't want to be a bother to you..." she started.

"Trust me, Captain. You would not be a bother, unlike some people on my planet, like the kayart. We'd have to be extremely careful of them if we headed into the forest for they've made a base somewhere in it. Wherever it is, we've never been able to figure it out," he interrupted.

Tom and Janeway stole a glance between each other, wondering who or what a kayart was to Catar. He gave a smile as he leaned back into the chair, taking a moment before he continued.

"I am sorry Captain, I shouldn't bother you with the problems that plague my planet. I just hope that you are willing to stay despite knowing this," he assured them.

"We'll wait and see when we get to your homeworld if we'll stay and how long if we do. Until then, I'm not making you any promises," Janeway replied.

"But you're willing to consider my request. That's all I could hope for. Thank you Captain Janeway, for at least doing that," Catar told her.

Janeway gave a small sigh as she glanced over to Tom Paris, who obviously had a few other things on his mind. The pilot thought about the last time they were told not to worry about the local 'problem' which ended up with his friend being changed forever and having a family he would never see. He shrugged it off, knowing Harry would would have at least some time to himself before they arrived on Catar's homeworld.

TBC…


	3. Arrival at Tanasch

Catar stood beside Janeway on the bridge, staring at Tanasch on the view screen. The planet slowly moved in its orbit as the captain turned to her visitor.

"Are you ready to head back down?" she finally asked him.

She could almost swear that he had a smile upon his face as he appeared to stare in awe at the screen before him. His eyes never wavered as she spoke.

"Yes, I am more than ready. It's been several months since I've been home and I'm anxious to see my family," he breathed.

Janeway turned to Tom, who was standing ready nearby with his arms crossed.

"Lieutenant, go see how Ensign Kim is doing. I would like it if he could join us down to the surface with you and I when we go meet Catar's people," Janeway told him.

"On my way," Tom replied.

Catar watched the pilot as he headed into the turbo lift. Several thoughts went through his mind as he returned his stare back to the view screen to behold his home.

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Tom hurried out of the turbolift and down the hall to Harry's quarters. He had become a bit anxious to see how his friend was doing since he had left. Tom walked up to the door and pressed the chime. He waited for a few moments before narrowing his eyes a bit when he didn't get an answer.

"Harry, are you there?" Tom called out.

He gave a quick knock and he still didn't hear anything beyond the door.

"Computer, open door, confirmation Paris 32 alpha," the lieutenant ordered.

Tom carefully stepped through the door and glanced around the room, which was in a bit of a mess. Tom silently stepped forward, immediately taking notice of Harry's uniform laying haphazardly on the floor nearby. The mixture of groaning, sobbing and gasping soon filled his ears and he quickly followed it to the bathroom. Once there, Tom found his friend sitting against the far wall, arms wrapped around himself and knees pulled up against his chest.

"Harry, are you okay?" Tom asked as he hurried over to his friend.

Harry slowly turned his attention upwards to blankly stare at Tom as he placed a hand on his shaking arm.

"T-Tom, what're y-you doing here?" Harry demanded.

"I'm here because the captain requested I get you. She wants you to join us down to the surface in order to meet the locals. Besides, I think she believes it'd be good for you to get out for a change," Tom quietly explained. "I suppose it was a bad one this time?"

Harry gave a small nod before dropping his head back against the wall. He straightened his legs a bit as he began to calm down and dropped his hands into his lap. Sensing his friend needed a few more minutes, Tom sat down facing him. The ensign turned his stare away from the lieutenant, wondering what Tom felt about catching him in yet another embarrassing situation.

"I'm surprised I haven't scared the entire deck away by now from all these episodes," Harry whispered.

"But I've noticed the intervals between your desires are getting further and further apart. That's a good sign. You'll soon be back to the way you used to be, just you wait and see and I'll still be there to help whenever you need it," Tom told him.

Harry didn't reply as he turned back to face his friend. Tom tried to put on a comforting smile but found that it didn't take and it soon disappeared into worry. He carefully watched Harry's expressions, hoping he would voice his mind.

"Tom, all you're doing is baby-sitting a man who can't even go five minutes without having to find ways to relieve himself like this and you have better things to do than to look after me. Especially when you keep catching me in such - compromising - situations," Harry said.

Harry rubbed his hands against his bare thighs, his mind uncertain about a lot of things. Tom slowly shook his head at his friend with a sigh, feeling a slight twinge of rejection.

"Don't you dare think I can't make time for my best friend! As for these 'compromising' situations, no one else needs to know any details about them. The only reason it's me seeing you like this and not someone else is because you know I've seen you at your worst times with this. I'm pretty certain you would have told anyone else except for the Doctor, or maybe even Tuvok, to get out," Tom sternly replied. "Hell, I still feel guilty over what I did to you."

Harry glanced away, his mind wandering back to his time on Rysaria and with Ekaterina Matol, also known as Tenru, the mother of his yet unborn children. His mind flashed back with the memories of when he stepped in between Tom and her in order to protect her. He could still remember the pain from the phaser rifle as it snaked its way down the entire side of his body.

"You know she was right when she said that clothes were constricting. It has been hard trying to conform back to human standards and what people expect of me when all I want to do sometimes is tear off the uniform off and walk around like it's no one else's business and you're right. It doesn't help to know that soon enough she is going to give birth to my children," Harry sighed.

"I can't possibly begin to imagine what it feels like Harry. Care to soon clean up and head out of here? I suppose anywhere else would be more comfortable than sitting on a hard, cold floor. Besides, the captain is probably wondering where I've gone," Tom wondered.

Harry nodded as Tom climbed to his feet before helping him up. Tom stepped out into the next room so his friend could take a shower. He grabbed the discarded uniform and brushed off the non-existant dirt while he waited for Harry to come out. After a few more minutes, the ensign walked out and Tom handed him the uniform.

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Captain Janeway stood with Catar in the transporter room, waiting for Tom and Harry to arrive. Janeway had her arms crossed, fully knowing they could be waiting for a few more minutes. Catar, on the other hand, was slowly becoming impatient. He appeared a bit exasperated as he began to tap his foot.

"What could possibly upset your officer enough that it could take _this _long?" he demanded.

"I've seen him take just as long as this to deal with his feelings, sometimes even longer. His problems are more serious than what you realize, Catar," Janeway explained with a monotone voice.

"But…" started the Tanaschi.

He was interrupted when the lieutenant and ensign stepped through the door. The captain was happy to see Harry Kim appearing much more refreshed than what he was earlier and gave him a warm smile.

"You two ready?" she asked them.

She faced the ensign, knowing his answer was important. Harry acknowledged that he was and the four stepped onto the pad.

"Energize," Janeway told the crewman at the controls.

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The four appeared within the main square, where dozens of people were gathered. Their presence was quickly noticed and some began to scream, trying to get away from them. Catar tried to get their attention by waving his arms.

"Wait, wait, we're not here to harm you!" he cried out.

The people slowly began to realize who exactly was talking to them and began to form a crowd around the group. Instead of screaming, cheering began to emit from their mouths.

"My friends, allow me to introduce to you, Captain Kathryn Janeway, Lieutenant Tom Paris and Ensign Harry Kim from the starship _Voyager. _They defeated a Panari ship and helped me return home," Catar explained to them.

The cheering grew almost to a deafening point. Harry glanced around at the people. All had the same pale orange skin colour and ridges but coupled with only a few hair colours, ranging in shades of brown to black to grey and white. Harry eyed the Tanaschi and they all had smiles from ear to ear. They soon followed Catar to a good-sized building. Once inside, a man glanced up from his work and had to do a double-take. He quickly climbed to his feet and hurried over to the group.

"Charu Catar, it is so good to see you've returned. We weren't expecting your arrival for a few more weeks," the man gasped.

"Unala Fadru, I had help from some good people who were passing by. They agreed to bring me here after I was attacked by a Panari vessel since Tanasch was on their way home," Catar replied.

Fadru gave a small smile and nodded as he turned his attention to the three newcomers. They noticed that the exchange between the two Tanaschi indicated a formal greeting of some sort, they just weren't certain what kind of relationship the two had. Fadru carefully eyed all of them, a tiny glimmer of curiousity written upon his face.

"And where would your home be, exactly?" he finally asked them.

"We're from a planet called Earth, which is in another part of the galaxy thousands of light years from here. We have quite a long journey ahead of us to get there," Janeway told them.

"Then we shall try and help as much as we can since you aided us. If there are any supplies that you may need, let me know," Fadru told them. "And please make yourself at home here on Tanasch. We have many wonderful sights here and I promise to make certain that your stay with us will be as uneventful as possible."

Janeway narrowed her eyes, wondering what exactly what he meant. Harry grew a bit tense as he continued to listen in on the conversation.

"Uneventful? From what exactly?" she demanded.

"Why, the kayart of course. Catar, did you not warn these people of those merciless beasts?" Fadru demanded.

Before Catar could explain his actions, Fadru stood up from his chair and stepped before the captain, head held high and hands nestled behind his back.

"The kayart, Captain Janeway, are a group of people who have made it their duty to hunt down innocent Tanaschi for no apparent reason. Some have barely made it through the experience while others have disappeared entirely. We have been monitoring several individuals that we suspect may be part of this group and we have tactics to bring them out into the open," Fadru explained.

Fadru couldn't help but smile as he realized that he was rambling. He returned to his desk in order to finish what he had started before heading for the door.

"I apologize Captain for the ramblings of an old man. It's just that we've had so many problems with them for quite a long time. Let us put them out of mind for now and permit me to show you around our fair city," he told them.

Janeway nodded as Fadru and Catar began to escort them out the building for a tour. Neither Tom nor the captain saw the terror within Harry Kim. He gulped before walking out the door after them.

TBC…


	4. The Unexpected Problem Arises

The trio walked through the streets, following Catar and Fadru through the city. Very few of the buildings were exceptionally high, most being no more than a couple stories and most were a golden colour. The buildings appeared pretty simple as they walked by them, despite their vast knowledge of the cosmos.

Harry followed the captain and Tom, glancing around at the people, noticing that several of the people were giving him curious looks. For a split second, he felt as if they knew his secret but slowly shrugged it off, realizing they couldn't possibly know anything about what happened to him just a few months earlier. He managed to drown out the voices of the others as he glanced up at the sky.

The sun burned brightly above the crowd and Harry was taking delight in the heat it gave off. A smile crossed his face as a warm feeling seemed to wash across him. After a few moments, he returned his gaze back to the others and it was then that he noticed that they arrived in what looked like a town square. There were several merchants set up shop and many people milling about the area.

"This is our town's main place of business for food and other commodities. I only hope that you can find a few of our things to be of some use in your travels," Fadru told them.

No one noticed a woman nearby take notice of them. A smile eagerly crossed her face as she hurried over to them. Catar took notice and turned to send the woman away but grinned once he realized who was standing before him. He took her into an embrace, much to the surprise of Captain Janeway.

"Marchella, it is so good to see you again!" he cried.

"Catar, everyone will be happy to know you've come back ahead of schedule," she said.

"It was not by choice though. I was attacked and my ship was disabled by the Panari. Some people were passing through and they helped me get home," Catar explained.

It was at that moment that Marchella turned to see the strange aliens standing with them. She quickly inhaled and her eyes widened, almost as if she were terrified at the sight. She turned back to Catar with wide eyes and a look of absolute glee was now sitting upon her face.

"There are people here from another planet! How amazing! It's been a while since we've had visitors in this area!" she cried.

Tom and Harry glanced at each other, wondering what brought on such a response. She hurried up to them and clasped her hands together, giving them a small bow of her head. The two tentatively glanced at each other before doing the same. Janeway threw them a quick glance as she also gave a bow.

"It is so nice that we finally get a chance again to show someone around. Lately, anyone who's arrived has been landing on other parts of the planet," she explained to them.

Before anyone could continue, a soft beeping noise came from Fadru and he pulled off a small communication device from upon his waist, reading what it had to say. He gave an irritated sigh as he glanced around at his companions.

"I'm afraid there's something urgent that Catar and I have to take care of back at my office. Marchella, would you be a dear and continue showing these people around?" he requested.

"Of course I would. It would be my honour," she replied.

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me," he said.

Both males promptly left the small group. She quickly returned her attention back to them with a huge smile on her face.

"Please, follow me. There're a few places I'd like to show you," she told them.

The trio followed the woman through the town square. They passed several stalls that carried what looked to be various vegetables, fish and baked goods. Harry's senses almost went into overload since everything looked and smelled delicious. He carefully watched the people tending to those stalls and the piles of food that was laid out before them. As they passed the meats, Harry's mouth was salivating even more but he took a deep breath as he tried to control the urge to gulp down the food. Tom glanced over at him, turning his attention away from their guide. Gently placing a hand on his friend's arm and shaking, Harry snapped out of his trance. He could only give a sheepish smile as he realized what he was doing.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be. I was simply making certain you stayed focus on the tour. Wouldn't want you to get distracted now," Tom smiled.

"Just like the last time?" Harry asked him.

It took Tom a few moments to realize what he was talking about and gave a chuckle. The grin remained on his face as they continued to walk down the street.

"Don't worry Harry. This time, that's not going to happen. The mereflow are long past us and don't worry about me trying to hook you up with this woman since she's already spoken for," Tom laughed. "What's the worst that could happen now?"

00000

Fadru and Catar walked into the office only to be greeted by a man with a young woman by his side. She appeared terrified, carefully shifting her weight from one foot to the other. The man beside her stepped towards them, a neutral expression on his face.

"She came to me as I was doing my rounds sirs. She was with several of her friends when they had an encounter with a number of kayart. She barely escaped with her life in order to tell us about it," the man explained.

"Thank you Janner. We'll take it from here," Fadru replied.

The man gave a slight nod before he walked to the door. Fadru motioned for the woman to sit down in a chair next to the nearby desk. She complied and he soon followed suit, watching her the entire time.

"Tell me what happened with you and your friends," said Fadru.

"We were walking along, minding our own business when we heard a deafening scream. When we looked to see where it was coming from, several of those monsters were coming right for us. We tried to scatter and get away from them but they were too many. The others managed to divert their attention long enough for me to get away to tell someone," she explained. "I have no idea what happened to them. I didn't stay long enough to find out but a part of me feels guilty for leaving them."

Fadru pondered the story that filled his mind, the anger welling up within him over the audacity of the attack. It was infuriating that the authorities could never seem to be around when an attack occurred. A few possibilities ran through his mind before he turned his attention back to the trembling young woman.

"We will do our best to find your friends. We have a room specifically for this type of scenario. Would you like to go there to calm down for a bit before we decide where to go from here?" he asked her.

She slowly nodded before standing up. Catar motioned for her to follow him down the nearby hallway and they disappeared into one of the rooms for a few moments. Closing the door behind him, Catar returned to join his superior. After a minute of silence, Catar finally decided to speak up.

"What do you think of her story?"

"I believe she's telling the truth. It's her friends I'm worried about. Some of them may have been kayart in disguise that she was unaware about and they may have been after her," Fadru replied.

"That may be but it also could be that none of them were and they were all targeted equally. The fact those monsters managed to get that far into town like that is a bit disturbing to me, even after all this time away," Catar replied.

Fadru stared at the wall for a moment before he slowly turned his attention to a nearby bookcase. He sighed for he knew hit contained a book for which he would have another entry to write into it and its logs were complete so far. He remained at his desk for one last moment before he finally stood up and walked over to the books and picked out the one he needed. Stepping over to a nearby cabinet, he plucked a small box from its confines and placed it on the table between him and Catar, who smirked as Fadru turned to face him.

"First day back and we're already doing this test. I should consider myself lucky. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this test despite my absence. Still done at random, is it? Sometimes I wonder why we still do this one when we have others that are just as effective."

"You know that _n__othing's_ as effective as this test. Don't you worry Catar for we'll catch one of those bastards and make him talk before the day is out," the superior assured him. "Come; I know the perfect place where we can do this."

00000

Janeway watched the people go about their business in the streets as Harry and Tom were at a nearby food stall, debating on whether or not to try some of the food. Marchella stood between them, carefully watching their every move. Things had gone smoothly since they parted company with the two men earlier and Marchella was still grinning from ear to ear. They had received several stares from onlookers along the way to the open market; especially from the young children. Several young Tanaschi stood nearby, staring at the odd looking aliens amidst the crowd. Janeway took notice after a few moments and gave them a warm smile.

"Hello there," she said.

The children quickly skirted behind their parent's backs and Janeway's grin widened at the sight. It was then that she took notice of two familiar faces approaching the scene, a parcel of some sort in one hand and a strange looking gun in the other. The two walked over to the captain and Marchella, who gave Catar an embrace. He returned the affection as Fadru placed the object on the ground without removing it from the box and knelt beside it. Curiously, Janeway watched his every move before realizing the crowd went about their business paid absolutely no attention to her or the officers kneeling before them.

"What is that?" she finally asked.

"You'll see in a moment what we use this for, Captain. We've had a slight incident that we need to take care of properly. I knew that there was the possibility that you might be here when we arrived with this and part of me was hoping we would be able show you some of the techniques we use to capture these people," Fadru explained.

Janeway stole a quick glance over to Harry and Tom, who appeared to be completely oblivious to their conversation. She gave a small sigh as she turned back to her hosts and gave a nod. Fadru reached underneath the lid and a barely audible click was heard. Janeway narrowed her eyes as she continued to listen. After a few moments of silence, she glanced around the area and still no one else seemed to take any notice of them.

"If I'm supposed to hear something, I don't hear it," she stated.

"Just watch Captain Janeway. It usually takes a few moments before anything will happen," Fadru replied, a grin sitting upon his face. "And then we can have one of those bastards in our clutches."

As they stood there with device in hand, Harry and Tom continued to take in their surroundings. Harry hovered over a stall with several different looking meats when a hum began to fill his ears. His head perked up in attention in hopes that he could locate where the sound was coming from. Tom quickly took notice and stepped over to him with a worried look upon his face.

"What's wrong Harry?" he asked.

"Do you hear that?" Harry replied.

Tom craned his neck, hoping to listen for whatever his friend was hearing but heard nothing out of the ordinary. He shook his head as he glanced around the vicinity. Butterflies dropped into Harry's stomach as he was uncertain what this humming could mean. Frantic eyes tried to search for the captain only he wasn't seeing her in amongst the crowd of people. His breathing quickened as the thought crossed his mind that if it might have to do something with his alternate form but he didn't know how exactly.

"It sounds like a hum and it's quickly getting louder," Harry explained.

Tom gently placed a hand on his shoulder in hopes to calm him down. Suddenly, the hum turned into a shriek inside his head and that was when the pain started. Harry screamed out as he keeled over in a heap and Tom rushed to his side. His increasing distress immediately caught the attention of everyone around them and their happy faces turned into looks of sheer terror. Everyone started to panic as Janeway became aware of what was happening only a few feet away and rushed to the outer edge of the crowd.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Tom frantically asked him.

"The noise the noise, stop the noise! I can't handle it!" he yelled, his hands covering his ears.

Tom glanced up as Janeway finished pushing her way through the waves of people standing around them. She blanched at the shuddering form of Harry Kim and wondering what possibly be causing it when a growl soon filled their ears.

"Oh shit, this can't happen now!" Tom cried out.

The colour drained from his face as he tried to back away from his friend. Tom could see the uniform starting to tear away from Harry's body as the hair sprouted out from underneath. Only once before had Tom witnessed his friend transform into a mereflow and that was months before on Rysaria after he and B'Elanna were captured by the same mereflow who changed him. Soon enough, the monstrous form of what was once Ensign Harry Kim hovered above him. He stared in awe at the sight before him, staring at the jet-black fur that covered his friend's entire body. He hardly paid any attention to the shouts and screams that filled the air around them. It was at that moment that the muzzle of a gun poked into his peripheral view. It took a long moment before he realized that it was Catar and he was aiming his weapon directly at Harry.

He fired.

TBC...


End file.
